On May 15, Mr. Dick Abrams received a prestigious honor for his tireless dedication to Early Childhood Education (ECE) and the Fulcrum Foundation. Mr. Abrams was presented FADICA Catholic Philanthropy Network’s St. Joseph of Arimathea Medal of Service for his humble devotion to discipleship, generosity, and service.
Education was always of significant interest to Dick and Sharon† Abrams exemplified by their continued thirst to learn and encouragement of others to be their best. They supported youth education for years, serving on the boards of archdiocesan schools, teaching faith to youth and contributing financially to multiple schools. Discussions with educators, parents, and other interested parties made it clear to them that the biggest impact that could be made was with the age of the greatest development of the human brain, from birth to age five. Their belief that all children should have the opportunity for early brain development and their observation of the effectiveness of the Catholic schools led to conversations with Fulcrum and the Office of Catholic Schools (OCS). In 2017 they established a fund at the Seattle Foundation to support ECE at Fulcrum and OCS. The subsequent establishment and success of the OCS ECE program led to the establishment of the Early Childhood Education Endowment at Fulcrum.
Dick shares his vision that “the support of the endowment will enable the early childhood education program of OCS to not only benefit the children of Western Washington but to also become an exemplary program admired and respected across the country. Children of all faiths and cultures will have the opportunity to develop mentally, morally, and spiritually.” This vision is guiding the 56 early learning programs–each supported by Fulcrum with professional development, small capital grants, classroom expansion, tuition assistance, curriculum, and more. These programs serve more than 2,000 young children in 118 classrooms solely dedicated to early learning. Since 2018, enrollment in these programs has increased by 14% and we have expanded to infant and toddler programs in addition to preschool and PreK programs.
Congratulations Mr. Abrams! Your humble devotion to our youngest learners is remarkable. Fulcrum and all our partners are honored by your service and passion.
